View full sizeMajor League Soccer announced the opponent for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game to be staged at Portland's JELD-WEN Field, FC Bayern Munich. The league also unveiled the official logo that will be used for the festivities.Kip Kesgard, community blogger

In
the tradition of All-Star games, Major League Soccer has done their best to
make the midseason exhibition interesting to soccer fans of every capacity. In
the early years, the league adopted a standard East versus West format which
showcased the best talent within the league, but over the past 10 years, the
league has turned the match into a matchup between select MLS start and an
international club. Over the years, West Ham United, Manchester United, Celtic
F.C., Fulham, Chelsea, Everton and A.C. Roma have made the trip to America to play
in the match as part of their pre-season training. With the match coming to
Portland in 2014 and the American headquarters of adidas within the city
limits, there has been a persistent rumor that the opponent for the MLS
All-Stars would be a German side. In making that selection, the league worked
out a deal to bring one of the most famed clubs from Germany – F.C. Bayern München
or more commonly known as Bayern Munich.

In a joint announcement from MLS, the Portland Timbers, AT&T - the
game's title sponsor and adidas – a
major sponsor of MLS and a part owner of Bayern Munich, the long rumored news
finally came true in a press conference held at the adidas America offices up
in North Portland. The
2014 MLS-All Stars and FC Bayern Munich will do battle on Wednesday, August 6,
2014 at 6:30 PM at JELD-WEN Field in what is expected to be a full house. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2 in
addition to several other outlets to be available in over 130 countries
worldwide. For MLS, outside of the MLS Cup, this is one of their premier soccer
events on the calendar and they are hoping for another good show. The 2013
All-Star Game featured AC Roma taking on the MLS All-Stars, including Timbers
midfielder Will Johnson, at Sporting Park in Kansas City where the visitors pulled
off a 3 to 1 win in front of a packed house. With the match taking place in Portland,
Timbers Coach Caleb Porter has already been designated as the coach for the
2014 MLS All-Stars. In 2013, there were several methods used to determine the
roster, from fan votes, league appointments and a player selected via online
gaming, but the actual parameters of compiling the roster have not been
determined at this time.

A presentation was made to members of the media and featured MLS
President & Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott, Timbers president and owner
Merritt Paulson, AT&T Oregon president George Granger, Patrik Nilsson,
adidas America president, and Jöerg Wacker, a member of the Bayern
Munich club board who oversees the international strategy of the team. The
group took questions from the crowd, while there was also a short video
presentation with a message from Bayern vice-captain and famed German
midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger with a welcome message to fans in Portland.
For them, they considered it an honor to be the first German club selected for
this honor while also being able to play matches in front of their numerous
fans that are now based in North America. Club officials estimate that over 10
million fans support FC Bayern Munich while living in North America, and the
team will be completing a pre-season tourney with other scheduled matches to be
determined at a later time.

View full sizePortland has expanded upon its MLS All-Star Game history in 2013 when Timbers team captain Will Johnson was picked to represent the league in the match staged in Kansas City. While he's a likely candidate to make the 2014 roster because of his play, one member of the Timbers organization that will definitely be there is Timbers Coach Caleb Porter. The head coach of the MLS team whose venue is selected to stage the match is always picked to coach the MLS All-Star Team.Kip Kesgard, community blogger

For adidas, it's
a huge boon for a company who not only owns part of the club visiting Portland,
but their headquarters in Germany is just 100 miles from Munich which has
created a rather special relationship between the athletic company and the
club. The German automaker Audi and adidas both own approximately 9.1 percent
of the club respectively, while the ownership of the remaining 80 percent of
shares are split over 250,000 individual board members. They also boast some of
the most passionate fans in Europe while also showing compassion for their
community and region with various charitable endeavors. The similarities between
the supporters groups for FC Bayern Munich and Portland's own Timbers Army in
terms of team and local support, while the two organizations also have rich
histories of charitable involvement in varying capacities. FC Bayern Munich has
even provided financial aid to struggling clubs in Germany through direct
loans, playing charitable matches against a threatened club to then give them
the proceeds, or working out favorable player deals. The
German powerhouse takes their status very seriously, and while there are
current issues going on within the board, the over 100 year history of the
team indicates that the organization foundation is very strong.

While
it is an MLS team comprised of All-Stars and not a Timbers club that will be
playing in August, the league is hoping for a wonderfully festive atmosphere similar
to what is on display at soccer events at JWF. The representatives of Bayern
were impressed with what they noticed about the Timbers Army and their game day
production, and I would imagine there is something similar in store for the
match. Paulson did state in his remarks that Bayern Munich had no concerns
about playing on the regular turf pitch used here, so there would not be
natural grass laid down. However, the club is replacing the playing surface
before the start of the 2014 MLS regular season as part of its regular
replacement rotation. Considering that there were also several fan events
surrounding the All-Star ceremonies, such as concerts, fan gatherings, and
charitable events, I would expect that there will be several big events
surrounding the match in the area. Paulson couldn't give away any hints, but he
did say that if their plan completely comes to fruition, it will be an unforgettable
occasion for soccer fans in the region.